Since Easter Sunday falls most frequently in April, the faithful have traditionally celebrated this month as the most joyous month of the year, by assigning the entire month to the Resurrection, the foundation of our Faith.
“I am the Resurrection and the Life, he who believes in Me, although he be dead, shall live.” John 11:25
“Haec dies quam fecit Dominus” “This is the day which the Lord has made.”
Throughout the Octave we shall sing of the unequaled joy which throws open eternity to us. Every Sunday will furnish a reminder of it and from Sunday to Sunday, from year to year, the Easters of this earth will lead us, to that blessed day, on which Christ has promised that He will come again with glory, to take us with Him into the Kingdom of His Father.
“If we follow Christ closely we shall be allowed, even on this earth, to stand, as it were, on the threshold of the heavenly Jerusalem and enjoy the contemplation, pf that everlasting feast, like the blessed Apostles, who, in following the Saviour as their leader, showed and still show, the way to obtain the same gift from God. They said – See, we have left all things and followed You. We too follow the Lord and we keep His feast by deeds rather than by words.”
St Athanasius (297-373) Father & Doctor of the Church
Thought for the Day – 1 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Interior Life
“The daily struggle for existence, gradually wears down both the [physical and the intellectual life. The same can happen to the supernatural life. The long process of self-denial, acceptance of crosses and efforts to achieve perfection, can be very difficult and very tiring. Often, we feel weary and discouraged but, on these occasions, we must recall the words of Jesus, “Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28).”
Quote/s of the Day – 1April – “The Month of the Resurrection” – Saturday in Passion Week – Jeremias18:18-23, John 12:10-36 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“He who loves his life, loses it and he who hates his life in this world, keeps it unto life everlasting. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me and where I am, there also shall My servant be.”
John 12:25-26
“Why then do we pray for the Kingdom of Heaven to come, if this earthly bondage pleases us? WHAT IS THE POINT of praying so often for its early arrival, if we would rather serve the devil here than reign with Christ!?”
St Cyprian of Carthage (200-258) Bishop of Carthage, Martyr, Father of the Church
(Excerpt from On Man’s Mortality)
“Regard as free, not those, whose status makes them outwardly free but those, who are free in their character and conduct. For we should not call men truly free when they are wicked and dissolute, since they are slaves to worldly passions. Freedom and happiness of soul consist in genuine purity and detachment from transitory things.”
St Anthony Abbot (251-356)
“True spiritual life consists in this: that man keep his eyes on God, constantly, long for nothing but for God, keep nothing in mind but God and begin every single action, in God’s Name and direct it to Him.”
Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 1 April – Saturday in Passion Week
“Thy Holy Cross ”
SATURDAY IN PASSION WEEK St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor Caritas
“IT WILL BE USEFUL always to carry the Crucifix about with us, to kiss it often with love, to look upon it with respect and tenderness, saying at times: O Jesus, the Beloved of my heart, permit me to press Thee to my breast as a bundle of myrrh. I promise that my mouth, which is so happy as to kiss Thy Holy Cross, shall abstain from deceits, from murmurs, from every word which might displease Thee; that my eyes, which behold Thy tears and Blood flowing for my sins, shall look no more upon the vanities of the world, or anything which might expose me to offend Thee; that my ears, which hear with so much consolation the seven words pronounced on the Cross, shall take no more pleasure in empty praise, in useless conversation, in words that wound the neighbour; that my mind, after having studied with so much relish, the Mystery of the Cross, shall be closed against all vain or evil thoughts and imaginations; that my will, submissive to the laws of the Cross and to the love of Jesus Crucified, shall have only charity towards my brethren that, in fine, nothing shall enter into , or depart from my heart, without the permission of this Holy Cross, the Sacred Sign of which, I trace upon myself at rising and at going to rest and in all the sorrows of life. Amen.” – (Consoling Thoughts of St Francis de Sales).
One Minute Reflection – 1 April – “The Month of the Resurrection” – Saturday in Passion Week – Jeremias18:18-23, John 12:10-36 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” – John 12:21
REFLECTION – “At Jerusalem the crowd cried out: “Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord, the King of Israel” (cf Mk 11:10). The phrase “He Who comes.” is well said because He is always coming, He never fails us – “The Lord is close to those who call upon Him in truth. Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord” (Ps 144:18; 117:26). The gentle King of peace stands at our door… Soldiers here below, Angels in Heaven, mortals and immortals… cry aloud: “Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord, the King of Israel.” The Pharisees, however, stand aloof (Jn 12:19) and the priests are incensed by it. But the voices which sing God’s praises ring out without ceasing – creation is full of joy…
That is why, on this very day, some Greeks, prompted by this tremendous acclamation to worship God with devotion, approached one of the Apostles, named Philip and said to him: “We would like to see Jesus.” Note well, it is the whole crowd who carries out the task of herald and prompts these Greeks to be converted. Straightaway, these latter address Christ’s disciples – “We would like to see Jesus.” Those gentiles are imitating Zachaeus, not that they climb a sycamore tree [to see Jesus] but, they make haste to rise up in their knowledge of God (Lk 19:3). “We should like to see Jesus” not so much to behold His Face but, to bear His Cross. For Jesus, Who could see their desire, had unambiguously declared to those who were standing by: “Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” calling “glory” the conversion of the gentiles.
And He gave the name “glory” to the Cross. For, from that day to this, the Cross is glorified. Indeed, it is the Cross which still today, Consecrates Kings, adorns Priests, protects virgins, gives constancy to hermits, reinforces the marriage bond and strengthens widows. It is the Cross which makes the Church fruitful, brings light to the peoples, guards the desert, opens paradise.” – St Proclus of Constantinople (Died c446) Archbishop of Constantinople, Confessor, Defender of the Church and of the Blessed Virgin, Writer, renowned Preacher, Father of the C hurch (Sermon for Palm Sunday).
PRAYER – O Lord, may the people dedicated to Thee desire to serve Thee more and more that, taught by these sacred rites, they may be enriched by more precious gift,s as they grow in favour with Thy majesty. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Our Morning Offering – 1 April – Saturday in Passion Week
What Can I Say? By St Anselm (1033-1109) Magnificent Doctor Marian Doctor
My most merciful Lady, what can I say about the fountains which flowed from thy most pure eyes when thou saw thy only Son before thee, bound, beaten and suffering? What do I know of the flood which drenched thy matchless face, when thou beheld thy Son, thy Lord and thy God, stretched on the Cross without guilt, when the flesh of thy flesh was cruelly butchered by wicked men? How can I judge, what sobs, troubled thy most pure breast, when thou heard, “Woman, behold thy son,” and the disciple, “Behold, thy Mother,” when thou received as a son, the disciple, in place of the Master, the servant, for the Lord? Amen
From “The Prayers and Meditations of Saint Anselm with the Proslogion,” Benedicta Ward, trans,1973, Penguin classics, Penguin Group (UK)
Saint of the Day – 1 April – Saint Celsus of Armagh (c1080-1129) Archbishop of Armagh, Reformer. He was responsible for the change from lay control of the Church in Ireland, to a Clerical-Episcopal model. Himself a hereditary lay administrator, he decided to seek Priestly Ordination and be embraced celibacy in order that the reform introduced by Pope St Gregory VIII on the Continent, could take effect also in Ireland. Born in c1080 in Ireland and died on 1 April 1129 at Ardpatrick, Munster, Ireland of natural causes. Also known as – Cellach Mac Aodh, Cellach Mc Aedh, Cellach of Armagh, Ceilach, Ceillach, Celestinus, Celsus, Keilach, Kelly.
This might be St Celsus or St Malacy?
Celsus was born in c1080. He belonged to a powerful local family, the Clann Sínaigh, which controlled what was then the Hereditary Lay Abbacy of Armagh. In this system the lay “successor” (of some Saint, in this case of St Patrick), was also the administrator, in this case of Armagh. That was the Ecclesiastical structure in Ireland at that time. Bishops and Priests seem to have had little influence and were probably under the control of these lay Abbots. In 1091 Celsus inherited the title of Administrator and was then the effective “Bishop” of Armagh.
Lay control of Bishoprics had also been operative in Europe but with the reform of Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085) it was gradually replaced by a Diocesan structure with Bishops. This reform spread to England, especially when strong Norman Archbishops like Bl Lanfranc and St Anselm, came to the See of Canterbury. In response to requests from the Norse community in Dublin, Bl Lanfranc had Consecrated Donngus and St Anselm had Consecrated Samuel Ó h-Ainglí as the Bishops for Dublin. In 1096, St Anselm had also Consecrated Malchus, as the first Bishop of Waterford.
In line with this reform Celsus of Armagh, a man of learning and piety, not yet married, made the courageous decision to become a Priest. In 1106 Maol Muire Ó Dunáin Consecrated him Bishop. In 1111 at the Synod of Rathbreasail at which Celsus was present, the reforms were made nationwide and the whole country was divided into formal Diocese with Cashel and Armagh as the two Archbishoprics.
In the face of stern opposition, probably most of all from within his own family, Celsus administered Armagh, whose Diocesan boundaries were laid down at this time. As a metropolitan Province, Armagh was given twelve suffragan Diocese. Dublin at this stage had a strong Norse population and was more linked with Canterbury. But in 1121, after Bishop Samuel Ó h-Ainglí died, Celsus went to Dublin as the new Bishop Gregory, was being installed.
In his absence Celsus appointed the young Monk Malachy (to become St Malachy of Lismore), who later succeeded him, to act as his Vicar in Armagh. Possibly his lengthy absence in Dublin was connected to a dispute there between the Norse and Irish factions or to his desire to assert Irish influence in that City.
Celsus, when he returned to Armagh in 1122, saw that Malachy had sterling qualities suitable in a Bishop. He sent him first to Lismore, where he could have contact with Benedictine influences from England and the continent. Celsus continued to administer Armagh. When Malachy returned, Celsus gave him the task of restoring Bangor as a monastic community and in 1124, he Consecrated him as the Bishop of Connor.
Knowing that his own family would try to regain control of Armagh when he died, Celsus named Malachy as his successor as Bishop there, sending him his Crozier in token. In 1129 while visiting Munster, Celsus died at Ardpatrick and was buried in Lismore at his own request. Malachy did indeed have difficulties establishing control as Bishop. But he was able to have Giolla Mac Liag, the Abbot of Derry, installed and accepted as effective Bishop and administrator of Armagh, while he himself returned to the Monastery of Bangor. Malachy then Consecrated a Bishop for Connor Diocese, keeping the See of Down for himself.
St Celsus personal decision to become a celibate Priest and a Bishop, effected a crucial change in the organisation and reform of the Church in Ireland in the 12th Century. He deserves to be better known and acknowledged for his personal example and achievements in the formation of the Church Episcopal structure in Ireland. St Celsus pray for Holy Mother Church, pray for Ireland, pray for us all!
Blessed Abraham of Bulgaria Blessed Alexander of Sicily Saint Anastasio Blessed Antonius of Noto Saint Berhard of Amiens Blessed Bernhardin of Noto Saint Celsus of Armagh (c1080-1129) Bishop Saint Dodolinus of Vienne Blessed Gerard of Sassoferrato Saint Gilbert de Moray Blessed Giuseppe Girott Blessed Hugh of Bonnevaux
Saint Hugh of Grenoble (1053-1232) Bishop, Reformer, in the foundation of the Carthusian Order, founded a Monastery at Chalais. The Roman Martyrology reads: “In Grenoble in Burgundia, in today’s France, St Hugh, Bishop, who worked for the reform of the customs of the clergy and the people and, during his Episcopate, ardently loving solitude, gave St Bruno at the time, his teacher and to his companions, the hermitage of Chartroux, of which he was also the first Abbot. He ruled his Church for about fifty years with the thoughtful example of his charity.” The life of another St Hugh: https://anastpaul.com/2022/04/01/saint-of-the-day-1-april-saint-hugh-of-grenoble-1053-1232/
Saint Jacoba of Rome Blessed John Bretton Saint Leucone of Troyes
Blessed Lodovico Pavoni FMI (1784-1849) Priest, Founder of the Sons of Mary Immaculate which came to be known also as the “Pavoniani, “ Pioneer in vocational schools, known as the “Forerunner of St John Bosco.” In the decree of 5 June 1947 Pope Pius XII described Pavoni as “another Philip Neri, the precursor of St John Bosco and the perfect emulator of St Joseph Cottolengo.” His Lifestory: https://anastpaul.com/2020/04/01/saint-of-the-day-1-april-saint-lodovico-pavoni-fmi-1784-1849/
Saint Melito Sardis (Died c 180) Early Church Father, Bishop of Sardis (Died c 180), ecclesiastical Writer, Confessor, Apologist, Defender of Christ’s dual nature. Saint Melito is believed to have been martyred around the time he wrote his apology to Marcus Aurelius circa 180. Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2019/04/01/saint-of-the-day-1-april-st-melito-died-c-180/
Blessed Nicolò of Noto Saint Prudentius of Atina Saint Tewdrig ap Teithfallt Saint Theodora of Rome Saint Valery of Leucone Saint Venantius of Spalato Blessed Vinebault
Apostles of Picardy – Martyrs: Saint Caidoc Saint Fricor
Martyrs of Thessalonica – 6 Saints: A group of Christians Martyred. We know nothing about them but the names Alexander, Dionysius, Ingenianus, Panterus, Parthenius and Saturninus. Martyred in Thessalonica, Greece, date unknown.
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